Guwahati : NSCN (IM) chief Th Muivah reached Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Wednesday to visit his native village of Somdal, marking his first return in more than 50 years, officials said. The 91-year-old Naga leader arrived at Bakshi ground in the district headquarters by helicopter.

Thousands were eagerly waiting for the return of Muivah to his birthplace after more than half a century. Students also thronged streets of Ukhrul Town, joining in the warm welcome for the esteemed visitor.

The Naga leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) left Somdal village decades ago to be part of the insurgency.

His homecoming ushers in a “watershed moment in the region’s political history, drawing people eager to witness the return of one of the most influential figures in the Naga movement,”  .

The trip comes in the wake of ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur between Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups that has left over 260 dead and thousands displaced since May 2023.

Medical teams are deployed at the venue to ensure the elderly leader’s well-being. Lucy Duidang, leading the medical contingent, said specialists and ambulances were ready.

“I am here from the medical team, with ambulances and specialists to take care of his health. We look forward to his coming here. We wish God’s abundant blessings for him so he will be our great leader for a long time,” she said.

Many senior NSCN (IM) leaders are also in Ukhrul.  Before Muivah’s visit, “locals carried out a cleanliness drive across the district headquarters, where hoardings and wall paintings of Naga leaders were displayed.”

Promotional | North East Integration Rally